The Definitive Book of Body Language - Barbara Pease [79]
The Basic Head Positions
1. Head Up
The neutral head position
There are three basic head positions. The first is with Head Up and is the position taken by the person who has a neutral attitude about what is being said. The head remains still and the conversation may be punctuated by occasional small nods. Hand-to-Cheek evaluation gestures are often used with this position.
Margaret Thatcher using her defiant Chin Thrust
When the head is lifted high with the chin jutting forward, it signals superiority, fearlessness, or arrogance. The person intentionally exposes their throat and they gain additional height, which allows them to “look down their nose” at you. Large chins are the result of high testosterone levels, which is why chin-jutting is associated with power and aggression.
2. The Head Tilt
Tilting the head to the side is a submission signal because it exposes the throat and neck and makes the person look smaller and less threatening. Its probable origin is in the baby resting its head on its parent's shoulder or chest, and the submissive, nonthreatening meaning it conveys seems to be unconsciously understood by most people, especially women.
The Head Tilt displays the vulnerable neck and makes a person appear smaller and more submissive
Charles Darwin was one of the first to note that humans, as well as animals—especially dogs—tilt their heads to one side when they become interested in something. Women will use this gesture to show interest in men they fancy because a woman who is nonthreatening and shows submission is attractive to most men.
Tilting the head to reveal the vulnerable neck appears to be intuitively understood by most people
Studies of paintings from the last two thousand years show that women are depicted three times as often as men using the Head Tilt and women are shown in advertisements tilting their heads three times as often as men. This shows how most people understand, on an intuitive level, that displaying the neck shows submission. In business negotiations with men, however, a woman should keep her head up at all times.
If you are giving a presentation or delivering a speech, make a point of looking for this gesture among your audience. When you see an audience tilting their heads and leaning forward using Hand-to-Chin evaluation gestures, you're getting the point across. When you listen to others, use the Head Tilt and Head Nods and the listener will begin to feel trusting toward you because you appear nonthreatening.
3. Head Down
When the chin is down, it signals that a negative, judgmental, or aggressive attitude exists. Critical evaluation clusters are normally made with the head down and until the person's head lifts or tilts, you can have a problem. Professional presenters and trainers are often confronted by audiences who are seated with their heads down and arms folded on their chests.
Experienced conference speakers and presenters will take action to involve their audience and get participation before they begin their presentation. This is intended to get the audience's heads up and to get involvement. If the speaker's tactic is successful, the audience's next head position will be the Head Tilt.
Head Down shows disapproval or dejection
The English have a peculiar greeting gesture called the Head Twist, which involves putting the head down while simultaneously twisting the head to one side. This comes from medieval times when men would doff their hat as a form of greeting; this evolved into just dipping the head and touching the hat, which, in modern times, is now the Head Twist, the salute, or simply tapping the forehead when meeting someone.
The Head Duck
Raising the shoulders and pulling the head down between them lets a person protect the vulnerable neck and throat from injury. It's the cluster used when a person hears a loud bang behind them or if they think something will fall on them. When it's used in a personal or business context it implies a submissive apology, which detracts from any encounter